Finding Betty Crocker: the secret life of America's first lady of food
Description
IN 1945, FORTUNE MAGAZINE named Betty Crocker the second most popular American woman, right behind Eleanor Roosevelt, and dubbed Betty America's First Lady of Food. Not bad for a gal who never actually existed.
"Born" in 1921 in Minneapolis, Minnesota, to proud corporate parents, Betty Crocker has grown, over eight decades, into one of the most successful branding campaigns the world has ever known. Now, at long last, she has her own biography. Finding Betty Crocker draws on six years of research plus an unprecedented look into the General Mills archives to reveal how a fictitious spokesperson was enthusiastically welcomed into kitchens and shopping carts across the nation.
The Washburn Crosby Company (one of the forerunners to General Mills) chose the cheery all-American "Betty" as a first name and paired it with Crocker, after William Crocker, a well-loved company director. Betty was to be the newest member of the Home Service Department, where she would be a "friend" to consumers in search of advice on baking -- and, in an unexpected twist, their personal lives.
Soon Betty Crocker had her own national radio show, which, during the Great Depression and World War II, broadcast money-saving recipes, rationing tips, and messages of hope. Over 700,000 women joined Betty's wartime Home Legion program, while more than one million women -- and men -- registered for the Betty Crocker Cooking School of the Air during its twenty-seven-year run.
At the height of Betty Crocker's popularity in the 1940s, she received as many as four to five thousand letters daily, care of General Mills. When her first full-scale cookbook, Betty Crocker's Picture Cook Book, or "Big Red," as it is affectionately known, was released in 1950, first-year sales rivaled those of the Bible. Today, over two hundred products bear her name, along with thousands of recipe booklets and cookbooks, an interactive website, and a newspaper column.
What is it about Betty? In answering the question of why everyone was buying what she was selling, author Susan Marks offers an entertaining, charming, and utterly unique look -- through words and images -- at an American icon situated between profound symbolism and classic kitchen kitsch.
"Born" in 1921 in Minneapolis, Minnesota, to proud corporate parents, Betty Crocker has grown, over eight decades, into one of the most successful branding campaigns the world has ever known. Now, at long last, she has her own biography. Finding Betty Crocker draws on six years of research plus an unprecedented look into the General Mills archives to reveal how a fictitious spokesperson was enthusiastically welcomed into kitchens and shopping carts across the nation.
The Washburn Crosby Company (one of the forerunners to General Mills) chose the cheery all-American "Betty" as a first name and paired it with Crocker, after William Crocker, a well-loved company director. Betty was to be the newest member of the Home Service Department, where she would be a "friend" to consumers in search of advice on baking -- and, in an unexpected twist, their personal lives.
Soon Betty Crocker had her own national radio show, which, during the Great Depression and World War II, broadcast money-saving recipes, rationing tips, and messages of hope. Over 700,000 women joined Betty's wartime Home Legion program, while more than one million women -- and men -- registered for the Betty Crocker Cooking School of the Air during its twenty-seven-year run.
At the height of Betty Crocker's popularity in the 1940s, she received as many as four to five thousand letters daily, care of General Mills. When her first full-scale cookbook, Betty Crocker's Picture Cook Book, or "Big Red," as it is affectionately known, was released in 1950, first-year sales rivaled those of the Bible. Today, over two hundred products bear her name, along with thousands of recipe booklets and cookbooks, an interactive website, and a newspaper column.
What is it about Betty? In answering the question of why everyone was buying what she was selling, author Susan Marks offers an entertaining, charming, and utterly unique look -- through words and images -- at an American icon situated between profound symbolism and classic kitchen kitsch.
More Details
ISBN:
9780743265010
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Grouping Information
Grouped Work ID | e748a503-dba8-8e38-ca33-2cdf15d55457 |
---|---|
Grouping Title | finding betty crocker the secret life of americas first lady of food |
Grouping Author | susan marks |
Grouping Category | book |
Grouping Language | English (eng) |
Last Grouping Update | 2024-09-09 13:49:11PM |
Last Indexed | 2024-09-13 04:51:33AM |
Solr Fields
accelerated_reader_point_value
0
accelerated_reader_reading_level
0
author
Marks, Susan
author_display
Marks, Susan
available_at_ashland
Ashland Vaughn Public Library
detailed_location_ashland
Ashland Adult Nonfiction
display_description
format_ashland
Book
format_category_ashland
Books
id
e748a503-dba8-8e38-ca33-2cdf15d55457
isbn
9780743265010
itype_ashland
BOOK - HARDCOVER
last_indexed
2024-09-13T09:51:33.979Z
lexile_score
-1
literary_form
Non Fiction
literary_form_full
Non Fiction
local_callnumber_ashland
921 CROCKER
owning_library_ashland
Ashland Vaughn Public Library
owning_location_ashland
Ashland Vaughn Public Library
primary_isbn
9780743265010
publishDate
2005
publisher
Simon & Schuster
recordtype
grouped_work
subject_facet
Cookbooks
Crocker, Betty -- Biography
Crocker, Betty -- Biography
title_display
Finding Betty Crocker : the secret life of America's first lady of food
title_full
Finding Betty Crocker : the secret life of America's first lady of food / Susan Marks
title_short
Finding Betty Crocker
title_sub
the secret life of America's first lady of food
topic_facet
Biography
Cookbooks
Crocker, Betty
Cookbooks
Crocker, Betty
Solr Details Tables
item_details
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ils:.b15031950 | .i21034503 | Ashland Adult Nonfiction | 921 CROCKER | 1 | false | false | Available | Aug 12, 2024 | asanf |
record_details
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---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
ils:.b15031950 | Book | Books | English | Simon & Schuster | [2005] | 274 pages ; 22 cm |
scoping_details_ashland
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ils:.b15031950 | .i21034503 | On Shelf | Available | false | true | true | false | false | true | 9999 |